Persecuted for the Kingdom

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy are those who have suffered persecution
For the cause of goodness,
For the kingdom of heaven is theirs!

You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution.
The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

This is the most difficult beatitude for me, because I have never suffered persecution for the sake of Christ.  I have been hassled because of my personality or my talent, but never for my faith.  I have read the mission stories of those who have given their lives in their work of sharing the Gospel, but things like that just don’t happen in the United States - at least not yet.

The thought of dying for my faith doesn’t exactly make me happy.  It terrifies me.  Being in prison or undergoing interrogation would not be choices that I would make for myself.  Yet Jesus included this “happiness” in His list of eight blessings.  His followers who lived directly after His resurrection would suffer tremendous persecution, not just from the unbeliever, but from the Jews as well.  Hiding in catacombs and being hunted by the likes of Saul were probably not high on anyone’s “to do” list, yet they suffered and endured for the kingdom of God.

Will I be able to stand if such persecution comes to me?  Will I count it a blessing to suffer as Christ suffered, and as thousands of saints have endured during history?  I hope so.  I pray so.